It’s extraordinarily rare that the fourth instalment of any film franchise is declared a critical success, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides does absolutely nothing to buck that trend.

This time around, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is conscripted by former flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz) and her father, notorious pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) in their quest for the Fountain of Youth.

Blackbeard is in a bit of a hurry, as he’s on the receiving end of an unfortunate prophecy, predicting his imminent demise at the hands of a one-legged man.

Enter recent amputee Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), also chasing the fountain on behalf of an English King who is determined to beat his Spanish rivals to everlasting life.

Sword fights, swindles and sea creatures abound, ensuring the film contains most of the ingredients of its predecessors. But sadly, it doesn’t even come close to replicating the wit and charm of the first Pirates film.

The pace seems to slacken the longer the film runs and although there are some fun action sequences, most of them lack suspense.

The once-loved characters of Sparrow and Barbossa now seem more like impersonations of their former selves. Sparrow in particular seems a little stale and many viewers will be shocked to recall that Depp was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the first Pirates flick.

Despite this, Depp and Rush have more chemistry than what Depp does with his supposed love interest in Penelope Cruz.

Ian McShane was well-cast as the villainous Blackbeard but, like Cruz, doesn’t have nearly enough decent material to work with.

Limelight is split between too many unnecessary secondary characters, such as the irritating clergyman and his demonic mermaid sweetheart.

The optimists among us who were looking forward to a reboot of the franchise, free of the Orlando-Bloom-and-Keira-Knightly-shaped baggage that weighed down the second and third instalments will be left disappointed.

In past Pirates instalments, the straight, heroic roles were easily filled by Bloom and Knightly’s characters, leaving Depp to entertain as an antagonistic, trickster-type character.

Without a similar straight man to play off, both Depp and the film struggled to find a clear purpose or direction.

Hans Zimmer’s invigorating score manages to generate stirrings of nostalgia for this film’s superior predecessors but as soon as the music stops, the feeling is gone.

As always, the exotic locales were visually stunning, however 3D added very little to the screening and made picture quality worse at times.

If you are planning on seeing the film and destroying any remaining fondness you have for the Pirates franchise, save yourself a few dollars and see it in 2D.

Cynical viewers will see this as a cheap attempt to milk even more money from moviegoers and with a fifth instalment already in the works, they wouldn’t be wrong…

Ultimately, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has the feel of one of Disney’s inferior straight-to-DVD sequels. Many will be disappointed by the depths to which filmmakers will plummet for a chest full of Disney doubloons.

One of the more lively action sequences features Dame Judi Dench in a brief cameo muttering just one short line… ‘Is that it?’ The question is particularly apt given most viewers will leave the cinema asking themselves the exact same question.